


The Fear Complex

by TheWeatherOutside



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, Gen, Halloween, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Gore, Scary Themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:08:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27287692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWeatherOutside/pseuds/TheWeatherOutside
Summary: Gordon tripped over his own feet as he sprinted through the hallway, but he managed to catch himself on the wall before he fell over.He chanced a look behind him, but that thing was still chasing him, getting closer every second he stood staring at it. He almost found he couldn't look away, but he knew he had to keep moving. He couldn't let it get to him.
Comments: 11
Kudos: 10





	The Fear Complex

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween!

Gordon tripped over his own feet as he sprinted through the hallway, but he managed to catch himself on the wall before he fell over.

He chanced a look behind him, but that _thing_ was still chasing him, getting closer every second he stood staring at it. He almost found he couldn't look away, but he knew he had to keep moving. He couldn't let it get to him.

He ran off further down the hallway until he came across a door. It was open, and he hurried into the room before spinning towards the panel situated next to the door.

His fingers flew over the buttons that would lock the door, and then the door slowly moved shut.

As it slid closed, Gordon backed up in the room until he hit the wall on the other side. He could hear that thing running up the hallway, getting closer and closer.

His back slid down the wall and he sat on the ground. The door was almost closed, but just before it could shut all the way, Gordon heard the footsteps suddenly stop on the other side of the door.

Then, a hand appeared around the door.

Spindly, black fingers curled around the door and prevented it from closing. The hand pushed against the door and it slowly started to open again.

Gordon tucked his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around his head. He knew he was cornered and there was no way to escape whatever it was that was chasing him.

He felt tears start to spring in his eyes as he feared whatever was going to happen to him next. He didn't know what this thing was or what it was going to do with him. All he knew was that he wanted to go home.

* * *

That morning had started with Gordon being startled out of bed with the sound of the klaxon. Gordon had made his way down to the lounge to find Virgil already there, with John's hologram in front of him as he relayed the information for their latest rescue.

After they had received all the facts they needed to know, Virgil and Gordon headed down to the hanger and loaded into Thunderbird 2. Once they were all set, Virgil launched them from the island, and they flew off to the rescue site.

The site they were headed to was an abandoned chemical factory. The facility hadn't been touched in years after it had closed due the illegal methods it was undertaking in developing new chemicals and technology. However, someone was apparently stuck in the building and needed help getting out, which was why they were called. Gordon didn't know why someone would go back to a building like that, but that was a question to ask once the mission was over.

The two of them flew to the factory, and after arriving they hopped out of the big, green ship and made their way into the building.

"That place was never cleared out, so there are some dangerous chemicals still in there," John informed them before they went inside. "Be careful."

"FAB," they both replied in unison, and then walked into the factory.

The building was big, and there was something about the place that interfered with their equipment and made it difficult to track down the life sign of the trapped victim.

To cover more ground and save time, Gordon and Virgil had decided to split up. They made an agreement to keep in contact with each other, and then Virgil headed to the east side of the building whilst Gordon headed west.

What neither of them had taken into consideration was that whatever was interfering with their equipment, it also interfered with their comms. It took them both a little while to realise the problem, and by that point they were far enough apart that there was no point in turning back.

So, Gordon accepted the fact that he was alone for now, and focused on trying to find the lost person to get out of there as soon as possible.

As Gordon made his way through the factory, he started to question how this person had gotten trapped in here in the first place. Virgil and he had made it into the facility easily, and the whole place looked like it hadn't been touched since the day it was abandoned.

Dust covered the walls and floors, and furniture sat still in all the rooms. Paper was strewn across desks like people had left this place in the middle of work, like they had all just up and left.

Gordon reckoned that this was the part of the facility where they developed the chemicals, as all the rooms he passed by were labs.

The worktops were covered in beakers, some still half-filled with liquids. Gordon didn't think that was within laboratory safety protocols, but that was likely why this place was shut down in the first place.

"This is International Rescue. Is anybody there?" Gordon called into the lab he was standing in the doorway of, but just like every room he had been in so far, there was no reply.

He turned to move along to the next room, but before he left, something on one of the worktops caught his eye.

It was a beaker that had toppled over and now its contents were spilling onto the floor.

It was still dripping, like it had only recently been knocked over. Gordon took a step closer to see what the liquid could be, but that was when he heard a noise come from down the hallway.

He stepped back out into the hall and looked down the length of the corridor. He couldn't see anyone, but that didn't mean he was alone.

"Hello?" Gordon called as he walked down to where he heard the noise coming from. A small bit of hope sparked in his chest that he'd found the person so soon and they could get out of here quickly.

He made it to the end of the hallway, but he still hadn't seen or heard anything else. When he tried calling out to them again, he still got no reply.

The hallway branched out into two others. He didn't know what way the person had gone, if it was even the person that he’d heard, so he didn't know which hallway he should go down.

He took his chances and went left. This hallway looked just like the last one he'd been down, as did all the others he followed soon after. They were filled with laboratories, each one left in the same state as the last.

Gordon hadn't heard anything for a while now and he was starting to think he'd gone the wrong way, but then he saw something in the corner of his eye.

He swore it was a person, who was moving across the end of hallway. Gordon turned just in time to see something dark and shadowy move around the corner.

"Hey, wait!" Gordon yelled out and started to run after them, but the person was too quick. Every time he turned the corner, it was just in time to see them disappear again.

Gordon called after them again, but they still didn't stop. Gordon was beginning to grow annoyed at how this person was ignoring him. He did not appreciate having to chase after them.

Although, when he turned into the next corridor, what he saw next had him freezing to the spot.

The person he was chasing had vanished, and instead he was looking at a hallway that was covered in blood.

It streaked across the floor, in a pattern that looked like something had been dragged through it. There were splatters of it across the walls, and there was even a handprint on the doorway to one of the rooms.

Gordon stumbled back as the smell suddenly hit him. Whatever this was, it was fresh.

He lifted his watch and tried to call Virgil.

"Virgil? Can you hear me?" He spoke over the comms, even though he knew it wouldn't work. "John? Anyone?"

No one answered and he knew he was alone here. He wanted to head back outside, but he didn't want to leave Virgil here alone. Who knew what else was in this facility.

Not only did he have Virgil to worry about, but there was also an innocent person trapped here and in need of his help. The blood could even be theirs. He couldn't leave them here hurt and alone.

There was a sudden sound from back down the hallway he'd just come from, and Gordon quickly spun around.

There, at the other end of the hallway, was a man. He was standing still and staring straight at Gordon.

Gordon slumped in relief. Now that he'd found the person, that was once less thing he had to worry about.

"There you are. I've been looking for you for a while now." Gordon started to make his way over to them. "Are you hurt?"

The person didn't say anything, and Gordon frowned in concern. He moved in closer, worried that the man was being quiet because he was injured.

"Is everything all-?" Gordon stopped suddenly as he got a better look at the man.

There was a mask over his face, covering his features. His clothes were in tatters and covered in blood, and in one hand he was holding a chain. At the end of the chain, there was a large metal ball with spikes on it.

The man started to walk towards Gordon. The chain dragged along the floor, sending a screeching noise down the hallway.

Gordon moved back slowly, suddenly fearful that this person was not the one he was looking for and had done something to whoever sent the distress call. Or worse, this person called them to lure them out here.

The masked man picked up speed and Gordon knew it would not be safe to stick around. He spun on his heel and ran down the hallway.

He was forced to go down the corridor covered with blood. The blood was slick under his feet and he ended up slipping and falling over.

He quickly pulled himself back onto his feet, ignoring the blood that now covered his hands and suit, and carried on running.

He had no idea where he should go, he just knew he had to keep moving forward. The shrieking continued to ring out behind him, growing ever closer with each second.

He turned into another hallway, but it wasn't until he reached the other end that he realised that it came to a stop. There was nowhere else to turn, and as Gordon spun around, he could see the masked man turning the corner into the same corridor, so he couldn't head back.

There was a door to the left of him and Gordon ran straight into the room.

He looked around to see if there was another exit, but there were no other doors or even windows. It was just another lab.

The door was still open behind him, so he spun around to try and close it before that man got to him. However, the second he turned around, he saw that man standing directly behind him.

He only had a moment to see the chain being lifted before the ball with spikes came flying towards his head.

Gordon ducked just in time, all those times trying to improve his reflexes paying off. He took a step back, but he hit a workbench behind him.

The ball came flying back and this time he wasn't quite fast enough. He narrowly missed the spikes, but the chain hit him across the head and sent him stumbling to the side.

Before he could regain his footing, he felt a hard shove that sent him flying further, right into a glass cabinet.

Glass shattered around him and he felt it pierce his face and suit. Whatever chemicals that were being stored in the cabinet spilled around him, and he didn't like to think about what kinds of liquids he was now rolling around in.

Dazed, he blinked up at the man who was now standing over him. He stared at Gordon for a long moment, black eyes shining through his mask, and Gordon couldn't help but wonder what he had planned for him. He probably didn't want to kill him, otherwise he may have done it already. Maybe he wanted to take Gordon somewhere and torture him for fun first.

Not wanting to stick around and find out, Gordon kicked out at the man.

The man grunted and took a step back slightly as Gordon hit his leg, but he didn't move much further than that. Gordon got up and moved past the man, surprised he could get by so easily.

Until he felt that chain wrap around his ankle and pull him to the ground.

He cried out as his head slammed against the floor. He felt the spikes digging into his skin and then he felt himself being dragged along the floor.

He tried to find purchase on something, but the ground was too smooth and there wasn't anything around him to grab onto except broken glass.

With his free foot, he started to kick at the chain. It took several attempts until he managed to dislodge it from his ankle, and by that point the man had already gotten him to the doorway.

Gordon scrambled away and bolted past the man and out the door.

He didn't look back as he sprinted away. He limped as pain shot through his ankle, but he didn't let that slow him down.

He could no longer hear the man following him or the shrieks of that metal chain being dragged along the floor, but he didn't trust that he was safe. There was no way that that man would just let him go.

Gordon had no idea what way he had come from, so he didn't know how to get out of here. What he did know was that Virgil had taken the east side of the building. If he could get to him, then his brother could get them out of there.

As he had gotten so turned around, he wasn't too sure what way east was, but he reckoned that if he kept moving right, he would eventually make it to him.

At some point, the hallways started to look a little less clinical and Gordon was hopeful that he'd found the right section to find his brother.

He hurried along the corridor, looking into every room he passed in case his brother was in there.

And then he heard a noise.

It came from further down the corridor he was in and sounded a lot like Virgil calling his name. Gordon picked up his pace and headed into the room at the end of hallway.

The room looked like an office. It was filled with desks and computers that looked like they hadn't been used for years. But sitting in the chairs at every desk, was a human skeleton.

Clothes hung loosely off the bones and flesh was still rotting away on some of them. The smell of this room was worse than the blood-coated hallway, and he stumbled to the side to throw up as the stench hit him all at once.

He bent over with his hands on his knees and waited for his stomach to settle. When he knew he wasn't going to be sick in the next second, he stood up and staggered out of the room to get away from the smell.

He fell against the wall outside the door and took deep, shaky breaths. His stomach settled but he didn't think he could move again just yet. His head was pounding, and his lungs hurt. For some reason, his throat screamed at him every time he sucked in a breath, but he just put that down to the amount of exertion it'd taken him to get to here.

There was a flash of movement at the edge of his vision and Gordon suddenly felt too tired to find out what it was. He knew he'd have to find out, though, and so he slowly turned his head in that direction.

What he saw was worse than anything he'd come across so far.

He didn't even know what this _was_.

It was pure darkness, like a shadow that took the form of a person. Spindly arms and legs, and fingers that were so long they touched the floor. The worst part of it was the two white eyes that bored right into his soul.

It took a step closer to him and that was all the motivation that Gordon needed to start running again.

He ran back the way he'd come from, even though he knew it would take him back to the man. He would probably prefer that man over whatever this was.

At some point he tripped, but he managed to keep himself standing. That _thing_ was still chasing him and knew he had to get out or find a place to hide.

There was a door to his left and he darted into the room. He needed to close the door, or he'd end up in a similar situation to that masked man, and this time he didn't think he was going to get dragged off before he got killed.

There was a panel next to the door and Gordon started pressing buttons that would hopefully lock the door.

Sure enough, the door started to close. Gordon backed away from the door as he heard that thing grow closer.

He reached the back wall of the room and started to slide down it. The door was almost closed, and he thought that maybe the thing wouldn't make it to him, but he was wrong.

Just before the door was closed all the way, a hand wrapped itself around it. Black fingers that stopped the door from closing and started to push it open again.

Gordon curled into himself and tucked his head into his knees. He couldn't get out of this, whatever _this_ was. He was doomed to die here at the hands of this creature, and there was nowhere to run.

He put his hands over his head as the door opened wide enough for the creature to get in, although he didn't know why he bothered. He couldn't protect himself from something so terrifying.

That thing stalked closer to Gordon and he started to sob. He just wanted to go home and be with his family. He wanted Virgil to come and find him and get him out of here, but none of that would happen.

"Please, just leave me alone," he whispered, but it did nothing. That thing still moved closer to him.

One of those long fingers reached out and touched his face, and Gordon shivered. It was cold and felt rough against his cheek. He barely even realised it was wiping away a tear.

The creature stepped closer to him, so close that soon all he could see was darkness as its body cast a shadow over him. Those spindly arms wrapped around his body, as the creature consumed him.

* * *

Gordon woke with a jolt. His eyes flew open and he sat up from where he had been lying on something soft. There was something over his face and he wanted to rip it off, but before he could, that same, shadowy figure reappeared in front of him.

But it wasn't a shadowy creature, it was Virgil. He was smiling at Gordon as he placed one hand on Gordon's shoulder, and the other over the oxygen mask to keep it on Gordon's face.

"Lie back down, Gordon," Virgil coaxed as he gently pushed Gordon back against the pillows.

Gordon complied, although his heart was still racing, and he still wasn't quite sure what was happening.

"Where 'm I?" Gordon mumbled, his voice feeling lost on him.

"In the infirmary, back on the island," Virgil explained as he readjusted the blankets over Gordon.

Gordon frowned. He didn't remember getting back home, just being in that factory and then-.

"Wha' 'appened?"

Virgil's face fell slightly, in a way that looked almost sympathetic.

"What do you last remember?"

Gordon looked away from Virgil as he tried to remember the events from that factory. He could remember looking for someone, and then finding someone who wasn't at all who he had been searching for.

That person had tried to kill him, and he had to get away. He remembered the bloody hallway and the skeletons that filled that office and the _smell_ of it all. He remembered that creature, that black shadow that had chased him down and-

He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to block the memories out. He clenched his fists around the blanket and willed it all to go away.

"Hey."

He felt a hand on his and he opened his eyes. Across the infirmary to him, there was blood dripping down the wall.

"Look at me."

A finger under his chin guided Gordon's gaze back to Virgil. Virgil was smiling at him and Gordon felt his eyes start to water.

"What's happening?" His voice shook as the tears started to spill.

Virgil didn't let go of his hand as he sat on the edge of Gordon's bed. He reached over to wipe a tear off Gordon's cheek.

"In that factory, there was a lot of chemicals that they were experimenting with," Virgil spoke slowly so Gordon could keep track of his words. "When the factory was abandoned, there were a lot of chemicals that weren't cleared out. Some had been spilled and even mixed together, which created some really dangerous gases."

Gordon was trying to keep up with what Virgil was saying, but he still wasn't quite understanding what he was getting at.

"Gordon, when we went into that factory, you went towards all the laboratories and breathed in those chemicals. They made you hallucinate."

Gordon was quiet for a long moment. He still didn't understand, everything had felt so real and he was sure he hadn't hallucinated any of it.

"But that man...that creature..."

"Gordon." Virgil moved to take both of Gordon's hands in his. "We called the GDF after I found you. They searched the whole building. There wasn't anybody in there."

Gordon's brow creased. "What about the call?"

Virgil shrugged and let go of Gordon's hands as he ran a hand through his hair.

"I don't know. Maybe they made their own way out, but there weren’t any signs that somebody had been there before us."

"But all that blood..." Gordon looked down at his hands, where they were once covered in that crimson liquid, but now they were wrapped in bandages.

"There were cuts with glass fragments all over your hands and face," Virgil explained once Gordon had glanced up at him in confusion. "All seemingly self-inflicted."

Gordon looked back down at his bandaged hands as he still tried to take this all in.

"I heard it, though. I smelt it." Gordon tightened his fists around the blanket again. "I felt it."

He heard Virgil sigh next to him, and then mattress moved as Virgil stood.

"Get some sleep, Gordon." Virgil squeezed his shoulder and then turned away to something else in the room.

Gordon's gaze moved back to the room, and in the corner, he saw that man again. He was still wearing a mask and holding the chain in one of his hands, staring at Gordon just like he had before.

Gordon squeezed his eyes shut and pulled the blanket up to his chin. It wasn't real. Virgil had told him it wasn't real. And if it was, his brother was right there with him to protect him.

* * *

When Gordon woke up next, it was with slightly less confusion than before. It still took him a moment to remember where he was, but the soft mattress under him and the quiet beeps of machines reminded him that he was in the infirmary.

Gordon stretched his aching limbs and opened his eyes, and stopped still.

The room was dark, but every inch of it was filled with eyes. They were all looking at him and moved whenever he did.

Gordon kicked the sheets off and quickly stumbled out of the room. His ankle protested underneath him, but Gordon didn't know if he should even believe that pain was real anymore.

The rest of the house was dark as night fell, and Gordon hurried through the house to try and find some light.

He made it into the lounge and could see that the light in the kitchen below was on. He made his way down the stairs, but stopped halfway down when he heard voices coming from the room.

"You should have seen him, Scott. He didn't even recognise me when I found him; he seemed terrified."

"But he's out of there, and now things will get better for him. How long do you think it'll take for the chemicals to wear off?"

"A few days at least, maybe a week. We'll just have to see."

They both went quiet and Gordon took that as a good moment to enter the room. He didn't want to stay out here in the shadows anymore, not when there were things watching him.

Gordon made his way down the rest of the steps and saw the two other people in the room.

They looked just like that black, spindly figure, and their white eyes were looking back at him. Gordon blinked, and then it was Virgil and Scott who were standing in front of him.

"Gordon?" Virgil questioned when he saw their little brother moving towards them.

"I woke up alone." Gordon knew he sounded like a child, but he didn't care. He didn't want to be alone.

Scott and Virgil sent each other a look, before they sent him the same, sympathetic smile.

"Do you want something to drink?" Scott asked, and he gestured to the recently boiled kettle.

Gordon nodded as he came over to sit at the table. A minute later, and a mug was placed in front of him.

He knew it was hot chocolate, because his brothers always made that when one of them was hurt, but it didn't look or smell like it.

He ignored the way the liquid was red and looked like it had little chunks of meat floating around in it, it tasted warm and that's what mattered.

Gordon wrapped his hands around the mug to keep his fingers warm, and then his brothers moved to sit in the chairs next to him. Virgil threw an arm around Gordon's shoulders and pulled him closer to his side.

Gordon looked at Virgil and then over at Scott, and he smiled. There were still things to be scared of, but he knew that with his brothers around, nothing his mind made him see would hurt him.


End file.
